I have been reading about food a lot lately. Not cookbooks and such, but books that have caused me to think about where my food comes from, how is it produced, how safe is it to eat?
It used to be easy, I would buy what was cheap, and try not to buy too much junk. As long as we were eating meat and vegetables and fruit and bread and milk, I assumed we were eating a good diet. Then I heard about the amounts of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers used in commercial agriculture. So I went to organic foods, and whole grains. No more white flour for me! I felt pretty good about that. Then I discovered the evils of high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) and hydrogenated fats, and tried to avoid them. (HFCS is in everything!) Then I read about eating local. Those organic grapes lost some of their appeal when I realized how much fuel was required to ship them from Chili. So I started eating more locally produced food.Thank goodness I live in California! As long as I define local as within 200 miles, I can get almost everything I usually eat. Make a few exceptions…for coffee and such. Whew, That wasn’t too tough!
Like I said, I have reading about food, and I am amazed at how many different ways our food choices impact our health, and our world. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing with you the different books I have been reading and the changes I have been making in my familes diet. The changes that have been hard, and the changes that have been surprisingly easy.
Hmm. Now I’m hungry. I’m off to get a slice of homemade whole wheat bread. I think I’ll put some organic butter and some local cold pack honey on it. Num